https://www.preservegraydon.org/
Swim clubs figure out how to stay afloat
Sunday, July 7, 2013
BY MONSY ALVARADO
STAFF WRITER
The Record
Story time. Arts and crafts. Bonfires. Music concerts. Disco swim nights.
Town-owned and private swim clubs in North Jersey are not just for cooling off and swimming. Many that saw a decline in membership in recent years are offering more than just a dip in the water to bring in revenue to pay for pool costs and upgrades.
Not only are pool managers offering more social activities, some are also advertising in newspapers, posting notes on websites urging community members to join, and have offered discounts to members who bring new signees.
“There is not one thing that brings people in, you have to try a lot of different things,” said Al Taliaferro, president of the New Jersey Pool Managers Association based in Bergen County and pool manager for the private Teaneck Swim Club.
– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/recreation/214510971_Swim_clubs_figure_out_how_to_stay_afloat.html?page=all#sthash.P9s45FWX.dpuf
I hope the Graydon critics read this. Pools all over the state are seeing a drop in membership.
What does that mean….? We should still wallow in failure?
Wallow in failure is a bit dramatic and highly inaccurate.
The trend in public and private pools is that membership is down – even for cement pools. We need to evaluate our situation in light of what is happening in the world ( state) around us. Ridgewood is not unique and we have the same problems that other towns have.
I am just glad that we did not throw money at the problem when the waterpark was proposed.
Speaking of Graydon, I was there recently and observed several children (individually and in groups) absolutely terrorizing a mother duck and her 4 ducklings in the water and on the shore.
When I asked a lifeguard why she was allowing children to abuse the waterfowl, she told me that the ducks were not wanted there anyway so what was the big deal.
So because the ducks aren’t wanted at Graydon, the Village is condoning their abuse?
How nice. What a lesson to teach our children.
Off topic, but also along the lines of “what a lesson to teach our children” . . . .
At the 4th of July parade, I stopped in front of D’Moni on Ridgewood Ave. to take a breather while watching the parade and I was promptly asked by D’Moni staff to move along. The staffer camped out in the doorway told me that I was blocking their window (and their 8″ x 10″ flag stuffed in a purse . . . what a show of patriotism!) and they were hoping photo ops. as the parade came by. She was actually telling kids at the curb to keep their ballons and small flags down so as to not block the view of the store. I nicely told her that the sidewalk was public. I eventually moved down to the curb but continued to watch her harass parade viewers (who repeatedly responded as I had). In all of my years here, it was one of the most bizarre things I have seen and I was left thinking “a
nice lesson for the kids – – NOT”.
D’Moni is not a lesson about kids. It is about your right to be on a public sidewalk – with or without the parade.
What were they thinking? Would they have called the police if you did not move?
#7 – Yes, as I pointed out the the staffer, it is a public sidewalk and I am free to stand there if I wish. My point about a lesson to kids was that this person was setting a horrible example by chasing and harassing parade goers for the sake of a photo op. for her store.
#6 – I politely told them were plenty of police around and to get one if they wanted. Instead the staffer telephoned her boss who told her to offer us chairs so we would no longer be standing andtherefore blocking less of the window (good thinking but if I wanted a chair I would have had one with me). The owner also had the staffer move the tiny flag from inside the purse to adjacent to the door.
#8 – yes, idiots and I will NEVER set foot in that store. I couldn’t believe an E. Ridgewood Ave. shop would actually harass residents at the parade. Bad move .
The lifeguards’ attitude in general leaves something to be desired and says a great deal about management.
Did you think that it was the parent’s responsibility to teach the children? Were you afraid to approach the parents with your superior knowledge of appropriate behavior?
The lifeguards are not there to teach your kids right from wrong. That is the parents job. Maybe the parents would have thanked you for your insights, then again, maybe not.
Do not patronize D’Moni they sound like idiots.